Having been reared in the West Michigan region once inhabited by indigenous Ottawa (Odawa) tribes, and having a brother and sister-in-law involved for years in Christian ministry with the Ojibway (Ojibwa, Ojibwe) First Nation’s people in northern Ontario, I have long been fascinated by the culture and beliefs of these Anishinabeg people groups. A few years ago, however, I let that fascination lead me to a more in-depth study of some of their traditions. A key resource was Basil Johnston’s book Ojibway Heritage.
Reading about the implications of the Ojibwe pipe ceremony, I discovered many aspects of truth parallel with Christian belief—plus attitudes and understandings about the creation that I believe should have been adopted long ago by the church in North America.
The Bible indicates that much of the truth that people can know about God and His world has been revealed to each generation in its own time. This is commented on by “the Preacher” in the book of Ecclesiastes: “God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT).
No one civilization has the handle on all truth, thus we can learn truth through the collective wisdom of the ages as it is tested against the biblical revelation. Consider the following aspects of the Ojibway pipe ceremony (drawing on the research of Basil Johnston):
The smoking ceremony represented man’s relationship to his Creator, to the world, to the plants, to the animals, and to his fellow man. It was both a petition and a thanksgiving. Even the pipe itself represented the elements of the earth: the pipe bowl of stone, the tobacco of plant material, the feathers of animal material, the air as it passed through the pipe and excited as smoke.
1) The first ceremonial whiff was upward toward the sun. This acknowledged both “Gitche Manitou,” the Creator, who is the ultimate source of life, and the sun, which is the physical source of life on earth. Johnston elaborates: “In offering the whiff to the sun, the Anishnabeg were, by implication, affirming the mystery and incorporeality of Gitche Manitou. At the same time and in the same way, they were acknowledging that the Great Unknown could be known through His creations.”
As Paul told the Romans, “From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God has made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT).
2) The second ceremonial whiff was downward toward the earth. It acknowledged the four substances of which the cosmos is made and from which all living things come (in their simple form): earth, air, fire, and water. Further, it acknowledged the nurturing aspect of the earth—“mother” earth in the same sense as expressed by Francis of Assisi in “All Creatures of our God and King.” [lyrics and music] Male and female in union bring into being new human life; sun and earth in union bring forth all terrestrial life.
3) The third ceremonial whiff was toward the east. The east represented the daily cycle of life—that with the rising of the sun in the east each morning life was refreshed and a new day offered. Flowers opened, birds began to sing, and people were rejuvenated for their daily tasks. It also represented birth and infancy. All these, of course, are gifts of God’s common grace, and to acknowledge them as such is biblically appropriate.
4) The fourth ceremonial whiff was toward the west. The west represented the end of the day—and hence the end of life. It was an acknowledgment that each person has a calling in life (a vision) that is to be finished before death. To die without accomplishing something good kept one’s soul from peace in the land beyond this life. This is also a fitting understanding for followers of the Word of God who desire to serve the Creator and know that they will be judged in part according to their works when they stand before Him5) The fifth ceremonial whiff was toward the north. The north represented winter. Symbolically it acknowledged that into every life comes hardship and suffering. Johnston gives us a deeper meaning: “For leaders, it served as a reminder that decisions made in their councils were to be based on the principle ‘that the well-being of people took precedence over form, custom, and even tradition.’ Leaders were to avoid making conditions and matters worse for families and the community; and during the smoking, leaders petitioned Gitche Manitou for wisdom. With wisdom and prudence, decisions made would render life just a little more bearable.” None of this is contrary to biblical understandings about Christian leadership.
6) The final ceremonial whiff was to the south. In the spring the sun returned from the south to warm the land and bring the rebirth of life in the Northern Hemisphere. It represented the end of hardship and the promise of growth. It was especially a time to give thanks to the Creator for His help in seeing them through the winter. It also represented life after death for the soul. It was the final part of the ceremony ending on the positive note of promised eternal life for the soul. This is a fitting remembrance for the one who lives by the biblical worldview as well.Integral to the pipe ceremony was the understanding of each person’s “call” in life: the vision. During childhood and youth one prepared for life through the right experiences and the right education. After that was accomplished, one was ready to receive his or her particular vision. Prior to the vision, life was mere existence, preparation, and receiving. After the vision came meaningful living marked by fidelity to the vision and the giving of oneself for the community. In a sense, it was a recognition of one’s gift and the requirement that the gift be used for the good of all. [Consider the Christian parallel of "the call" thoroughly examined by Os Guinness in The Call]
It is clear from this interpretation that the pipe ceremony was a ritual that recognized much of the same truth acknowledged in orthodox Christian understandings of life and in the biblical theology of nature. If the Christian community conducted similar annual ceremonies today, there would likely be less detachment from the land and a greater understanding of our natural ties to 
the earth—plus our spiritual ties and our responsibilities to our Creator to worship Him and serve our neighbor through sacrificial acts of love and by proper care of the creation from which we gain our sustenance.
What was missing in the Ojibwe ceremony was recognition of the incapacity of people to deal with original sin—with evil, both in the spiritual realm and in the heart of mankind. It reflected a primitive form of salvation by works. How it must grieve God that most of the colonists who knew the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ were so bent on obtaining personal wealth that they failed to share the Good News: we’re not saved by our works but by the atoning death of our Creator and Savior, Jesus. Hence they actually suppressed the truth found in both Christianity and Native North American spirituality.
I feel that it’s important for Christians to consider the elemental truth inherent in many indigenous cultures and then in a winsome way add to it the redemptive and regenerating truth found in the written Word of God, the Bible.
See you outdoors!
Dean
September 15th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Interesting, Dean. And, amen! We need to find where people are prepared, and seek prayerfully to help them see that Jesus is the fulfillment of it all, and more!
September 16th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Your feeling that Christians should “consider the elemental truth inherent in many indigenous cultures and then in a winsome way add to it the redemptive and regenerating truth” would render a resounding Amen from the Apostle Paul. In Acts 17 Paul greeted folks in Athens, acknowledging and even complementing them on their religions, and went on to share the gospel with them.
I know of no evangelism training that does that, but wouldn’t that be wonderful if instead of hitting people with our “presentation” as if we were experts, we would sit down and hear what folks say, and gently and lovingly share the love and grace of the Lord Jesus with them. Something tells me that if a converted Ojibway person were to do that, he might just do it that way.
I am not familiar with the Ojibway, but the Cherokee (eastern band, at least) were peace loving people, and easy to communicate with. Missionaries to the tribe were welcomed. Maybe Christians from the Cherokee and Ojibway would make a wonderful training center where we Evangelicals could learn a thing or two.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:27 am
This is where my heart is regarding Native North Americans. There is so much we could learn from them if we sat down and listened to them–especially about honoring the Creator and caring for creation. If they could cast off the subservience forced upon them by colonial cultures, they could lead the way in the creation care movement and in teaching us a great deal about the wonder of creation. It is fascinating to think about how Paul might have interacted with Native North Americans.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Paul said he became all things to all people so that he could win some (see 1 Cor. 9:19 and following). Can’t you see Paul sitting down with native Americans smoking that pipe with them (to the horror of most evangelicals) acknowledging their love of creation and care of it, enjoying their conversation and in a winsome way fitting Jesus into the mix they already have completing their religion and reporting it to us. (wonder how many of us would believe it??)
September 16th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I am reminded of what C. S. Lewis said about what some call natural law–what Paul called the law that is “written on our hearts.” Kathryn Lindskoog says it like this:
“The human race is haunted by the desire to do what is right. People invariably defend their actions by arguing that those actions do not really contradict a basic standard of behavior, or that the standard was violated for good reasons.
The first five chapters of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity (1953) discuss this objective norm to which people appeal and by which they expect others to abide. Lewis claims that although everyone knows about the law, everyone breaks it. He further asserts that something or somebody is behind this basic law. This obvious principle of behavior is not created by humans, but it is for humans to obey. Different people use different labels for this law— traditional morality, moral law, the knowledge of right and wrong, virtue or the Way. We will call it the Natural Law.
According to Lewis, we learn more about God from Natural Law than from the universe in general, just as we discover more about people by listening to their conversations than by looking at the houses they build. Natural Law shows that the Being behind the universe is intensely interested in fair play, unselfishness, courage, good faith, honesty and truthfulness. However, Natural Law gives no grounds for assuming that God is soft or indulgent. Natural law obliges us to do the straight thing regardless of the pain, danger or difficulty involved. Natural Law is hard— “as hard as nails” (Mere Christianity, (p. 23).
We need to respect every expression of the law “written on the heart,” for some will have a better grasp on some aspects of it than we do. It is for us to take them from that law to the grace of Jesus Christ.
September 20th, 2009 at 9:05 am
She:kon, Dean:
Basil’s book has created much controversy even among the Ojibway for various reasons. A good example is the Pipe Ceremony you describe. Having lived with the Ojibway for 30 years and attended thousands of ceremonies. The Pipe Ceremony you describe is inaccurate and would not be accepted by the Ojibway who actually follow their culture. I only bring this up because to misrepresent some of the rites would be to the Ojibway, the same as misquoting scripture is to a Christian. The Ojibway follow the life direction of everything moves in a clockwise direction and the Pipe Ceremony, one of the very basics of their belief, has to do this as well to be true to that belief system. Also with this ceremony there are not six directions shared but seven, which makes this act of prayer and dedication very compatable with Christian belief.
September 20th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I appreciate your thoughts, Sakoieta. As you have said elsewhere, nearly every Native tribe has its own traditions. Basil Johnston being an Ojibway who survived the notorious “Indian schools” no doubt wrote out of his own experience, which may well have been different from your own. The purpose of my post was not to say that the Ojibway pipe ceremony he wrote about was the only one, but to show the mostly non-Native readers of my posts that there is much in many of the Native traditions that is compatible with and indeed enriches our biblical worldview. I have always felt that indigenous followers of Christ who understand the importance both the Scriptures and nature—both of God’s books—should be inspired to know that they have a great deal to teach us, and that we should listen.
Dean
September 20th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I understand your reason fully for posting it. I appreciate your efforts Dean, Really I do. There are so many people I know that to even mention a pipe to them is the sign the devil is in the house. It is the same with eagle feathers, sweetgrass, sage, the medicines, traditional songs, etc. I thank you for in a sense putting your head on the preverbial chopping block by entering into this conversation where as Captain Kirk used to say of the enterprise…to boldly go where no man has gone before. LOL.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 am
I offer your words back to you.
” I have always felt that indigenous followers of Christ who understand the importance both the Scriptures and nature—both of God’s books—should be inspired to know that they have a great deal to teach us, and that we should listen.”
That isn’t happening.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:46 am
Sad, but true. Don’t give up on us.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Sakoieta, I hope you will read my last post of Sept. 14. I meant it when I said I regret so much of what happened to Native Americans at the hands of some European settlers, greedy people endorsed by our president at the time, and even today, many of your people are “put down” by many of mine.
I want you to also consider Jesus as I stated there if you would.
As you said above, we all should be listening to each other from every perspective, and it isn’t happening. True.
I don’t endorse the actions of many who call Jesus Savior. Many of us are so well off in so many ways, that Jesus becomes less than Lord to us. We sometimes feel that since we get along so well, we must be ok. Christians who live in persecution (such as many Chinese Christians who have to go underground) are a lot more dependent on Him. They seem to model grace better than the typical American Christian. Throughout history, persecuted Christians look the look and walk the walk much better than I do.
But it doesn’t change the fact that although some of us “followers of Jesus” fail to model His lifestyle, He never fails. We who really believe in Him should examine our own hearts and lives and be more determined to live like He lived, say things like He said, do things like He did. Maybe our testimony would be more believable. But please don’t look at Jesus through the lens of we believers. Consider Him according to Who He really is.
Bob
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 am
Kwe Dean,
Again, a refreshing article that at least attempts to display an openness to a specific Native tradition.
However, this part is a sticky point:
“What was missing in the Ojibwe ceremony was recognition of the incapacity of people to deal with original sin—with evil, both in the spiritual realm and in the heart of mankind…. we’re not saved by our works but by the atoning death of our Creator and Savior, Jesus.”
This relates directly to what I said in my previous post about “Christian vocabulary” and observing a tradition from the outside.
Among the Mohawk, at least, we have a very stong sense of the inability of human beings to adequately deal with spiritual evil. Our Clan System and Great Law of Peace were given us by Creator because of our weakness.
Even then, obeying the Great Law isn’t “salvation by works”. It is Living Rightly. It is what we are to do because it’s what Creator made us to do.
Salvation, as far as the concept among the Mohawk goes, comes not from what we do to ensure it, but from recognizing that it still is ultimately in the hands of Creator. Our “salvation” comes from the understanding that the best we can do is of no worth if it is not what Creator has directed us to do.
That we do not talk of “original sin” or the “substitutionary sacrifice of Christ” is, in fact, irrelevant. Those are cultural elements needed to speak to a specific culture or set of similar cultures.
I once heard a dialog between a well-intentioned non-Native evangelist and a Native spiritual leader. The evangelist tried to explain “falling short of the Glory of God” by saying it was the same as missing the target with an arrow. The Native replied, “You might miss, but I wouldn’t”. The evangelist asked “How can you be sure? You aren’t perfect: all men can fail.” The elder replied “Exactly! That’s why I trust Creator to guide the arrow instead of my own hand. Wherever it lands is where He intended it to land. I might miss if I try TOO HARD to get it in the target, since He may not want me to hit it.”
Salvific faith in Jesus isn’t mentioned in this dialog…or IS it?
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Thanks for your carefully and cordially worded comment, Charles.
To be honest, I don’t think I can respond to this without creating conflict. Perhaps it is time in this discussion to hear from Adrian Jacobs, the Iroquoian Christian pastor. Maybe you or Sakoieta could encourage him to enter the discussion. Below is a devotional article from Adrian written for the Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots.
3PM Sunday, June 22, 2008
FAITH VICTORY CHURCH
2147 Chiefswood Road
Ohsweken, ON
Six Nations Reserve
You are invited to be with us for a very special time together. We will be doing two very special things:
* Strawberry Thanksgiving Ceremony – Thanking our Creator for the gift of the first fruits of our Six Nations land.
* Communion Service – We will proclaim the good news of the Ultimate Peacemaker and affirm our unity as His followers.
Come prepared:
1. To face the reality of our broken world and the hope offered by the good news of Jesus Christ.
2. To examine your own heart and turn from anything that tears relationships apart. This is preparation for communion.
Bring an item of food that can be easily distributed to those who come (this is not a pot luck). We have little refrigeration
The following devotion written by Adrian Jacobs, which appeared in our Summer 2005 Devotion Booklet, will share the significance of the Strawberry Fesitval.
Strawberry Festival
“But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29 KJV)
We waited to drink the red strawberry juice and to confess our sins. This was in the non-Christian Handsome Lake longhouse religion of my Iroquoian ancestors and not a Christian church. Turtle and wolf clan Cayuga people, young and old were celebrating the annual Strawberry Festival in late June. They were thanking the Creator with prayers, speeches, and dances for the Creator’s gift of the first fruits.
I love this time of year in southern Ontario. Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the eastern woodland season. Nothing compares to the small sweet berries that grow in the ditches, fields, and along the railroad tracks of my parent’s home on the Six Nations Reserve. My sacrifices in obtaining my red treasure – swatting mosquitoes and subsequently scratching, back pain from bending over picking berries, and red juice stains on my fingers – all fade into distant memory every time I bite into this summer time treat.
The Iroquois believe the strawberry plant came directly from Heaven. When someone almost dies they say, “I almost ate strawberries.” Strawberries grow on the path to the Creator’s house. Strawberries are special to my people. They are used in this forgiveness ceremony every year in the ancestral religion of my Iroquoian people.
The red strawberry juice had no connection to the blood of Christ, however. My life was not changed, though I drank many dippers of strawberry juice. It was only my faith in the blood of Christ that made a real difference in my life. I am able to say to my Iroquoian longhouse people that the strawberry juice and the offer of forgiveness point the way to the real source of forgiveness – the blood of Christ. Your support of this ministry helps me to share this Good News with my Iroquoian people. Nia weh (Cayuga word for “thank you”).
Lord thank you for opening people’s hearts to the sacrifice of Christ. Help me to hear the cry of people’s heart and show them how Jesus fulfills their longing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Adrian Jacobs
Ministry Staff
Brantford, Ontario
I would echo these words of Adrian Jacobs, which seem to contradict what you are saying about “salvation” from some source other than Jesus, the Creator and Savior.
Dean
November 11th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Hi Dean
I am an Ojibwe and also a follower of Christ. I appreciate your openness in sharing your heart of your current understanding.
Myself and other native people gather together monthly in our cultural way worshiping Jesus.
Traditional people do not accept that what we do is traditional because it is not. That is we have brought Jesus into our smudging, the pipe ceremony, sweat’s and drumming.
Yet there must come a point when what was given by the Creator in ceremonies is untwisted and lead one back to the Creator who is the living example of the ceremonies. This will only be seen when a people come forth and live the Life of God the Creator out as living witness of the ceremonies.
For example we do pray in 7 directions, the point is God is in ALL directions. The prayers that arise in the tobacco is the type and shadow of our prayers that ascend unto God in the spirit in our hearts to where we become a living prayer.
Our pipe carrier who was first a traditionalist was given the revelation of the red bowl as the blood of Christ, the wood stem the cross that he was laid upon, the smoke that ascends is as the prayers of the saint beneath the altar in the book of Revelation.
These are bridges of seeing God spoke to our grandfathers in a different way than the Hebrews. What was recorded by the hebrews in the Big Book we have recorded in our cultural stories and ceremonies.
Each Native American tribe must and will see Jesus in there own culture and for them it will be different than other tribes but also very unique for them.
My personal belief is that Jesus came to every North American, South American and Pacific tribe, for we all have a story of the pail white prophet coming to our people long before the first explorers came ashore. He gave us ceremonies but like many things these ceremonies tend to get added to and sometimes forgotten.
The point of all of them is they point to Him, Jesus who is the very personification of what they mean.
Be blessed
Bosco